A Rush Of Blood To The Head
by x0clairedelunex0
Summary: Claudia Corinthos and Carly Jacks hate each other. But they hate Kate Howard even more. And after a half-drunken night at Jake's, who knows what kind of mischief they could get into? Especially when there's no one to stop them.
1. Chapter 1

**A Rush of Blood to the Head**

_Chapter One_

Claudia Corinthos was giddy with excitement as she finally got out of the downpour and into the boutique. It had rained for the past two days in Port Charles, but nothing could ruin her mood today. She had waited for this dress for over two weeks, and now it was finally here. This was probably the best birthday present ever.

Claudia's connections weren't valuable only in the mob world. Thanks to Uncle Rudy, who was good friends with Donatella Versace, the world-famous fashion designer, Claudia was almost in possession of a one-of-a-kind original made especially for her. And the best part? If this dress had been put on the market, it would have cost thousands of dollars. Claudia was getting it one hundred percent free.

"Uh, excuse me?" she said, coming up to the counter of the boutique, where a saleswoman was going through the day's revenues. She looked up when Claudia approached her.

"How can I help you?" she asked.

"A dress came in for me today," said Claudia. "It should be under the name 'Claudia Corinthos.'"

"Hold on, let me check," said the saleswoman. She pulled a clipboard out from under the counter, scanning over the names. Claudia tapped her foot impatiently. She was so close to having this dress, she could almost taste it. Or, so she thought, until the saleswoman looked up reluctantly.

"I'm sorry, someone has already picked it up," she said.

Claudia was confused. Someone had taken it? But who? When the call had come, Max had offered to pick up the dress for her, but Claudia had wanted to do it herself. And Max knew better than to disobey Claudia.

"What do you mean, 'someone already picked it up?'" Claudia asked, anger clouding her confusion. "Do you just let anybody walk in here and take someone else's dress? Did you even check their I.D.?"

"If you want to talk to the woman, I think she's still in the store," she said. She craned her neck, looking over the racks and shelves of expensive and quality dresses, jewelry, and shoes. Suddenly, she found who she was looking for. "Oh, there she is," she said, pointing. Claudia followed her finger. "Over by the scarves." Claudia saw two women. One was another saleswoman, but that wasn't who she was concerned with. She was more focused on the bloodless stick holding the dress bag.

Claudia stomped her way over to the chatting women, not feeling sorry at all to be interrupting the conversation.

"What the hell do you think you're doing?" she asked angrily.

Kate gave the saleswoman a "I hate this woman with a burning passion" glance, saying, "I'm sorry, Gloria. I guess we'll have to finish our conversation another time." The saleswoman gave a knowing look back, then walked away, leaving Claudia and Kate to face off alone.

"What is it, Claudia?" Kate asked tiredly. "I have a very busy schedule today."

"I don't care about your damn schedule!" Claudia shouted, causing the heads of shoppers and salespeople alike to turn in their direction. "Give me my dress!"

Kate rolled her eyes. "Please, Claudia, try not to make a scene. And what do you mean, your dress? I happen to know that this dress is mine."

This chick was delusional if she thought she was going to get away with taking Claudia's birthday present. "Okay, I don't know what planet you live on, but Donatella Versace made that dress for me, and I intend to have it."

Kate laughed mirthfully. This day just kept getting better and better. "Oh, so you're the woman Donatella was talking about. Isn't that ironic?"

Claudia didn't care what was ironic and what wasn't. "Just spit it out."

"You see, I was in somewhat of a crisis. I have a photo shoot coming up this week, and I still needed another dress, but nothing I found went with the concept. I called Donatella for a favor, and she told me that she had made a dress for someone else, but that she'd be more than willing to give it to me." Kate smiled at her own scheme, something Claudia wanted to punch her for. "While Donatella has many friends that she is loyal to, I always come first in her book. Bites, doesn't it?"

Claudia was so angry, she felt like she could kill Kate with her bare hands, but decided not to. At least, not in the boutique, where there were plenty of witnesses.

"And, let me say, it is a beautiful dress. It'll have to be taken in a little bit, seeing as you're not exactly the same size as my models—"

Claudia was not going to let that go. "Did you just call me fat?"

Kate smiled evilly again. "Not directly." Claudia didn't say anything. Actions spoke louder than words, and right now, any actions she planned on committing could end up in a trip down to the PCPD.

"Well, since there's nothing left to say, I have to get going. Nice seeing you, Claudia. Give Sonny my best." She began stalking out of the boutique, dress bag slung over her shoulder. She stopped at the door, turned around and said, "He'll need it." Then, mercifully, she left.

Claudia stood in the middle of the store, fuming, while everyone stared at her. It was embarrassing. She had just been owned by Kate Howard, in public. That was enough to ruin anyone's day. No, make that anyone's month.

Man, did Claudia hate that bitch.

*

"Hey, Marty!" Carly Jacks said cheerfully as she made her way to the front desk of the Metro-Court, shaking off the rain. Today was going to be a great day, despite the weather. It was Morgan's birthday, and he was getting his big party in the Metro-Court ballroom. Carly had been planning it for weeks, and was so excited that the day was finally here.

"Morning, Mrs. Jacks," said Marty nervously. He guessed that no one had told her the bad news yet, and he hadn't wanted to be the one to break it to her.

"So, how's the ballroom coming?" Carly asked impatiently. She couldn't wait until it was finished.

Marty bit his bottom lip nervously. "Um, Mrs. Jacks, there's something—"

"Never mind, I'll just go see it myself!" Carly walked away from the front desk and towards the ballroom, with an anxious Marty following her.

"Look, Mrs. Jacks, we really should—" he started to say, but didn't finish as Carly opened the door to the ballroom. What she saw was not what she expected.

At first, Carly was confused. Nothing she had ordered was here. She had gotten the best DJ in town to cover music, but instead, she saw a string quartet setting up in the corner. All the food and beverages she had ordered (chips, pretzels, pizza, soda, and, of course, Morgan's birthday cake), weren't what was being set up on the tables. Instead, she saw what looked like caviar and other gross, healthy stuff, not to mention champagne flutes. There were no balloons, streamers, or any other party decorations set up. If the Metro-Court didn't only have the one ballroom, Carly would have thought that she had walked into the wrong one.

She turned to Marty. "What's going on? My son is turning twelve, not getting married."

Marty braced himself for the information he was about to disclose. "Mr. Jacks didn't tell you?" he asked, and Carly shook her head. Jax was in Hong Kong on business for the next two weeks. "It was a last minute thing. Kate Howard needed a space for a _Crimson _event. Nothing else in town was available."

Carly was in shock. Morgan's birthday was coming in second to something for _Crimson_?Last time she checked, she owned this hotel. So what she said meant the most, especially when it came to Kate Howard's "needs."

"Marty, I'm gonna give you ten seconds to explain why I should let Kate Howard ruin my son's birthday."

Marty knew that she was pissed as hell, and tried to get an explanation out as quick as possible. "Mr. Jacks gave the okay for Ms. Howard to have the function."

Carly should have known. Jax and Kate were too busy being buddy-buddies to even consider bringing her in on the decision. While she knew Jax loved her, she also knew that he'd do anything to help _Crimson_, which he had invested so much money in. That didn't make her hate the situation any less.

"What am I supposed to do, Marty?" she asked desperately. "Morgan has been looking forward to this ever since I told him. All of his friends are supposed to come. Do you know how much of a letdown this is going to be to him?"

"Isn't your new house big enough to accommodate the party?" Marty asked hopefully.

Carly shook her head. "The key word there is 'new.' I'm not going to let a bunch of teenagers run through the house."

"What about the yard?" Marty suggested.

"Uh, incase you haven't noticed, its pouring rain outside, Marty!" Carly shouted at him. "And why should I have to move my party? I was here first! I own this hotel! Can't she just have it in Manhattan? What's so appealing about Port Charles anyway?"

"A place in Manhattan, on such short notice? Nothing is available."

"Well, can't she just wave her magic Kate Howard wand and make something available?"

"I'm so sorry, Mr. Jacks," said Marty in way of answering.

Carly was beyond pissed. Now, instead of getting Morgan ready for his party, she would have to tell him that he wasn't having one, all because Kate Howard needed a space for a stupid _Crimson _function. He would be so embarrassed. He had invited all of his friends, and now he'd be known as the kid who didn't have the best party in the grade.

Man, did Carly hate that bitch.


	2. Chapter 2

_Chapter Two_

"Start a tab, Coleman," said Carly as she walked into Jake's. She had just come from her house, where she had had to explain to a very confused Morgan why he wasn't getting the awesome birthday party that she had promised him. He had locked himself in his room right afterwards, even after Carly's bribes, which included a new bicycle, a high dive for the swimming pool, and a trip to Disneyworld. Nothing would get that boy to come out.

Coleman took one look at Carly and knew better than not to listen. Her usual perky demeanor was gone, replaced with a sullen pout and downcast eyes. Just that glance told him that his cash register would be significantly fuller tonight.

"Whoa, Carly-babes, who died?" he asked as she sat down at the bar, slammed her purse on the counter, and put her head in her hands.

"No one, but you know who should die?" Coleman didn't answer as he poured Carly's first shot of tequila, the first of many to come. "Kate Howard. All she ever thinks about is herself. She just walks in and rips my son's birthday party out from underneath him. I hate her." She took the shot glass and gulped down the alcohol. It burned her throat, but it felt good. "Give me another." Coleman started to pour as she asked, "Do you know Kate Howard, Coleman?"

"By reputation only," he said, sliding the glass to her and watching as she shot that one down as quickly as the first one. "I hear she's a real be-yotch though."

"Ugh, you have no idea."

"She's like a tornado, isn't she? You're not the only person whose day she ruined."

Carly cocked her head, confused. "What're you talking about?"

"Take a look for yourself," said Coleman, nodding his head towards the other end of the bar. Carly looked in the direction he was indicating, and saw the last person (besides Kate Howard) that she wanted to see right now. Carly hadn't even noticed Claudia when she came into the bar, but there she was, tracing the rim of her scotch glass absentmindedly.

"What happened to you?" she asked. Claudia might not have been her favorite person, but misery did love company.

Claudia's head perked up when Carly spoke. Her dark brown eyes were red and puffy, and her black hair was a total mess. "Kate Howard," was all she said. "You?"

"Same here," said Carly, and Claudia's eyes widened. She didn't really like Carly, but if they could just gossip and hate on Kate Howard for a few minutes, what was the harm in talking to her? She picked up her purse and moved closer, hungry for information.

"What'd she do to you?" Claudia asked as Coleman poured her another scotch.

"Not to me really, but to Morgan," said Carly. "He was gonna have his birthday party in the Metro-Court ballroom, but Kate decides she needs it for _Crimson_. Can you believe that? Taking a little boy's birthday away from him? It's just not right."

Claudia shook her head as she drank her scotch. How could Kate do that to someone? She had no soul, that was for sure.

"So, what about you?" Carly asked, preparing to shoot down her third tequila. "How did Kate Howard ruin your day?"

"She stole a dress that was made for me," Claudia spat angrily. "My uncle had Donatella Versace custom-make a dress for me for my birthday, and Kate steals it to use in one of her photo shoots. Not only that, but she completely humiliated me in front of the entire store."

"She's a bitch," said Carly, feeling her pain. Coleman was right. Kate Howard was a tornado, destroying everything and everyone in her path.

"A tramp," said Claudia

"Slut."

"Whore." Claudia smiled a little, enjoying saying such mean things.

"Why hasn't anyone done anything about her?" Carly asked to no one in particular. "You'd think someone would stop her, but does anybody? No. They just let her keep ruining everyone's lives."

"I know, right?" said Claudia as Coleman poured her yet another scotch. She didn't know how many she was at. She had lost count at five. "I mean, why don't we do something about it?"

"Yeah, right," said Carly with a snort, but a second later, she didn't find it that funny. Her brain was foggy from the tequila, but some thoughts were still penetrating through it. Why didn't she and Claudia do something about it? When you wanted something done, you did it yourself.

Claudia saw the glazed look on Carly's face. What had she done? She was kidding when she said that they should do something about Kate. But it looked like Carly was taking her seriously.

"Why don't we do something about Kate?" Carly asked.

"Like what?" asked Claudia, skeptical. "Publicly humiliate her? Ruin her precious magazine? Give her a low-fat latté instead of a nonfat one? What could we possibly do about Kate Howard?"

"Those aren't bad ideas," said Carly, setting down the shot that she had been about to gulp down. "Come on. We're resourceful. You've got the mob thing going, and I've got my cousin who works for Kate."

"You really think we could do something?" asked Claudia, her skepticism turning into hope.

"Jax is out of town for two weeks."

"Sonny's in Puerto Rico on business."

"Olivia went back to Bensonhurst to visit her family."

Claudia smiled, a malicious smile that hadn't graced her face in a long time. "There's no one around to stop us."

Carly returned the smile. "Did we just become best friends?"

"I think we did," said Claudia, laughing.

Carly leaned back in her barstool, gulping down her tequila. "Kate Howard, prepare to rot in hell." She and Claudia clinked their empty glasses.

It was on.


	3. Chapter 3

_Chapter Three_

Claudia made her way into the Metro-Court late the next morning, biting her bottom lip nervously. While last nights events were a little hazy, she remembered agreeing to something that she wasn't so sure she still wanted to participate in.

It had taken a lot of sobering up to realize that what she and Carly had agreed to wasn't exactly possible. How could they ruin Kate Howard forever, and not get into some kind of trouble, whether it be with the cops or their husbands? It wasn't like Claudia didn't want to make Kate pay; she did, a lot, enough to label her as certifiably insane. Her dreams last night had consisted of Kate Howard dying in a variety of violent ways. Claudia's personal favorite was the one with the jackhammer. Nevertheless, with the more time she had to think about it, the less Claudia wanted to actually do something.

Claudia spotted Carly at the front desk, with a huge grin on her face, the same smile that could result from sleeping with a hanger in your mouth. Carly had never been so happy to see Claudia in her life. Forget the fact that she was a Zacchara, married to Sonny, and didn't really have any moral values. She was the perfect partner in crime for the operation.

"Good morning, Claudia," said Carly, the pep in her step obvious to any Metro-Court guest in the lobby.

"Hey, Carly," said Claudia, not as cheerfully, as she made her way to the front desk. "Um, about last night—"

"Don't tell me you're backing out!" whined Carly, putting on her pouty face. "I can't do this without you!"

"It's not a good idea!" Claudia argued back. "You know, I actually had time to think about something before I did it, and I'm glad. Do you know how many things could go wrong with this?"

"Why are you focusing on the negatives? We can do this, I know we can."

"Carly, we were wasted last night! We weren't thinking straight, and—"

"Okay, I may have been drinking, but I'm sober now, and I'm still serious about this thing. Carly-babes never says something she doesn't mean. Don't ask," she said in response to Claudia's raised eyebrow. "It's a long story."

Claudia was stunned, but not because of Carly's weird nickname, or the fact that she was referring to herself in the third person. She was stunned because she couldn't believe that Carly was still considering going through with this. She thought that last night's talk had just been drunk rambling, but, apparently, Carly hadn't thought of it as such.

"Look, Carly—"

"You know what, if you don't wanna do it, that's fine with me," said Carly. "I'll take Kate Howard down without you."

Okay, if Carly was serious, Claudia was definitely in. "And miss out on all the fun? I don't think so."

Carly's smile returned. She was glad Claudia had agreed, because, despite her confidence, this wasn't something that she could do alone. She'd need Claudia's help and connections. It was a two-women job, and they were the perfect candidates.

"You'll do it?" Carly asked excitedly.

Claudia took a deep sigh. "Yes."

"Yay!" cried Carly, causing her employees and guests to turn and stare. But she paid them no attention as she made her way around the front desk to hug Claudia, something she never thought she'd do.

The hug surprised Claudia as much as it did Carly. She didn't reciprocate it, not yet feeling that close to her new best friend, as she asked, "Do we even have a plan?"

Carly let go of Claudia quickly, grabbed a paper from the top of the pile on the front desk, and brandished it in Claudia's face. "Look what Lulu gave me this morning."

"I'd be able to see it if you stopped moving it around."

Carly held it with both hands right up to Claudia's nose, close enough for Claudia to go cross-eyed while reading it. "It's Kate Howard's schedule for the next week."

"No way!" said Claudia, grabbing it and cherishing it like it was a rare gem. There it was, in black and white, with some red pen on the sides.

"Lulu scribbled in some notes there," said Carly, pointing out the words in red pen. "She said it would help us with whatever we were planning." Carly smiled as she remembered the conversation she had had with her younger cousin. "She seemed a little scared about what we were going to do, and I don't blame her."

"Neither do I," said Claudia, making her way over to a couch, not taking her eyes off of the schedule. Carly followed her, still not able to contain her excitement.

"Is it not the most beautiful piece of paper you have ever seen?"

Claudia didn't say anything, just stared at it. There were conference calls scheduled, photo shoots planned—even the meeting to discuss the April issue was coming up in the next two weeks.

"So, what does she have going on tomorrow?" asked Carly.

Claudia glanced at the next day's date. She was disappointed to see that not much was under it. "Nothing, really. Just a lot of last minute touch-ups before the March issue goes into print."

"Anything Lulu wrote that'll help?" Carly asked hopefully.

Claudia scanned the notes on the side until she found something. "Hey, here's a little fun fact about Kate: she gets her nonfat latté—two and a half packets of Equal, one creamer, no more, no less—from the Starbuck's on the corner of Harbor View Drive and Division Street every morning at eight sharp. They even have it prepared by the time Lulu goes to pick it up. Talk about obsessive compulsive."

"One person's compulsions are another person's treasure," said Carly cryptically.

"What are you talking about?" Claudia asked, confused.

"I don't know," said Carly. "Maybe we could do something with that information."

"Like lace her latté with cyanide?" Claudia asked, a little too loudly.

Carly glared at her. "We don't wanna kill her."

Claudia's face fell. "We don't?"

"No," explained Carly. "We just want her to endure a living hell."

Claudia brightened up immediately. "I could live with that."

"I bet you could," said Carly. They both laughed for a bit, before Carly decided they had to get back to business. "What else is on there?"

"Let's see," said Claudia, looking over the rest of the schedule. "Here's something: Kate has a meeting over the phone with Gregorio Bianetti, a world-renowned photographer. She wants him to do a shoot for the April issue."

"Now that's what I'm talkin' about!" said Carly. "World-renowned photographer? If we ruin Kate's reputation with one person, we ruin it with the world entire."

Claudia paused for a second. Carly's statement sounded familiar. "Did you steal that from _Schindler's List_?"

Carly shrugged. "Sorta," she admitted. She turned back to schedule. "Lulu write any notes about him in there?"

"Yeah," said Claudia. "She said he's super anal and easily pissed off."

"That only makes things easier!" said Carly excitedly.

"Oh, here's that stupid photo shoot she was talking about," said Claudia, pointing on the schedule. "The one where she's gonna use my dress. We have to do something about that."

"Totally," agreed Carly. "No one, especially Kate, steals a one-of-a-kind Versace original and gets away with it." Claudia smiled, glad to have someone on her side about the whole issue. "Anything else?"

"Uh," said Claudia, looking back at the schedule. Her eyes brightened when she found something. "Here's another fun _Crimson _fact: each month's _Couture _issue goes into print two days before _Crimson_, and Giselle would savor a chance to bring Kate Howard down."

"So, what do we do, steal ideas from _Crimson _and sell them to _Couture_?"

Claudia frowned. "Sell them? Isn't ruining Kate Howard payment enough?"

"Definitely," Carly agreed, smiling. She scanned over the schedule herself, until something caught her eye. "Hey, Kate's throwing a gala in Manhattan at the end of the week. Oh, sure, she can get a place in the city then, but last night? No. She just had to have it here." Carly's face started to turn red in her anger.

Claudia saw the redness, and knew she had to calm her down. "Carly, breathe." Carly took in a deep breath through her nose, then let it out loudly through her mouth. "Okay," said Claudia calmly, waiting for Carly's face to return to it's normal color. It did, so she continued with her plotting. "We can definitely do something about that, too."

"Oh, come on, Claudia," reasoned Carly. "We can't do all of those things. We're not superheroes."

"Two things wrong with what you just said," corrected Claudia. "One: yes, we are superheroes. We are ridding the world of the evil that is Kate Howard. Someone should be giving us awards." Carly laughed. She couldn't argue with that logic. "And two: we can do all these things. It'll be like…I don't know…Kate Howard's own personal week from hell. I mean, one day just isn't enough."

"You really think we can pull all those things off?" Carly questioned. As much as she wanted to ruin Kate, she wasn't quite sure that she and Claudia could do everything that they had discussed. Still, Claudia seemed pretty confident about what she was saying.

"I know we can," implored Claudia. An idea that had been swimming around in her head for awhile came to the surface. "Tell you what. Meet me at the Starbuck's on Harbor View at eight in the morning tomorrow. We're gonna make the first day of this week the most embarrassing day of Kate's life."

Uh-oh, Carly thought. What did Claudia have up her sleeve now?

Claudia saw the look on Carly's face, and smiled. "Trust me, Carly. I'm a professional."


	4. Chapter 4

_Chapter Four_

"Lulu, what took you so long?" asked Claudia, annoyed. No matter how crucial Lulu would be to her and Carly's plans, Claudia still didn't like the idea of having to work with her. Even though Johnny had decided to pursue other cows in the pasture, Lulu was still a whiny baby.

"I'm sorry!" said Lulu, trying to huddle under the one umbrella. She, Claudia, and Carly stood outside of the Starbuck's under a golf umbrella that Carly had found lying around the house. In her hand was a tray, and on the tray was Carly and Claudia's golden ticket to happiness: Kate's obsessive compulsive latté. "The line was insane!"

"You know what, it doesn't matter," said Carly. Fighting between Lulu and Claudia would only slow down the operation. "You're here now." She turned to Claudia. "So, what's the plan?"

Claudia smiled as she reached into her purse and pulled a black and green can of Monster out of her purse.

Carly rolled her eyes. "Monster, Claudia? You really think that's gonna do anything?"

Claudia plucked that latté from the tray, took off the lid, and dumped half of the contents onto the already wet ground as she asked, "Have you ever had one of these things, Carly? I'm used to caffeine, and this made me sick. Mix this with the craploads of caffeine in Starbuck's, and we could be giving Kate Howard a stroke." Claudia popped open the Monster, dumping as much as she could into the Starbuck's cup without it overflowing.

"I'm not sure," said Carly, shaking her head. "What if it doesn't work?"

"Ye of little faith," said Claudia, offended. "Don't you trust me?"

"Not really," admitted Carly.

"Well, you should," said Claudia, handing the mixture back to Lulu. "Put, like, seventeen packets of sugar in this. And not that Equal crap—the real stuff." Lulu didn't say anything as she made her way back into the Starbuck's.

Carly didn't get it. "Why does Lulu need to put sugar in it?"

"Two reasons," explained Claudia. "It'll hide the taste, 'cause that Monster stuff tastes God awful, and it'll make Kate even more sick."

"How so?" asked Carly.

"When I first started drinking coffee, I'd put a million packets of sugar in, 'cause it tasted so bad. I gulped a whole cup, then got sick all over my uncle's Persian rug."

"That's pleasant," said Carly, trying to block the mental image penetrating her brain. "How do you know the same thing'll happen to Kate?"

"Have you seen the woman?" asked Claudia. "She's skinny as a twig. No one of her size could handle that much of a sugar rush."

"But she's used to it," Carly countered.

"Just trust me," was all Claudia said.

As she said this, Lulu came back out of the Starbuck's, coffee/Monster/tons of sugar in her hand.

"Anything else?" she asked.

"Nope, that's it," said Claudia. Lulu was about to leave, when Claudia remembered something. "Hey, how fast does Kate drink those things?"

Lulu laughed, but it came out as a snort. "Are you kidding? She inhales them. It's like crack to her."

Claudia smiled. "Excellent."

*

"Here you go, Kate," said Lulu nervously. While she, like Carly and Claudia, would love to see Kate get what she deserved, she was a little afraid that her role would be discovered. What if Kate could taste the difference in her latté? She'd be out of a job, and Kate would be out for blood.

"Thank you, Lulu," Kate sighed. Lulu had been late with her morning coffee, again, but she couldn't let that get on her nerves. The March issue was almost ready for print, and she had a lot to do before it was finished. She couldn't let something as trivial as a latté get in the way of her precious magazine.

Lulu watched, picking at her cuticles, as Kate took the first sip of her laced latté. She was waiting for signs of disgust, anger…anything that could end up in the termination of her career or her life. But Kate drank it as if it was just an ordinary cup of coffee, so Lulu breathed a silent sigh of relief.

"Okay, Lulu, there's a lot to do today, so you need to be on your game." Lulu took out her notepad, not wanting to miss anything. "I want all the pages signed off so that we can get the March issue into publication by deadline tonight. Make all the usual calls, and, please, try not to leave anyone out this time. I don't need an entire two pages missing because of your incompetence." Lulu ignored the snarky comment, and just kept writing. "Also, the outfits, for Wednesday's photo shoot, need to be delivered to the shooting location. Make sure they get there. Follow the van if you have to." Kate rattled off a few more orders, before finally sending Lulu on her way.

Lulu sat back down at her laptop, drumming her fingers on her desk. She looked over to Maxie's old spot, and, strangely, almost missed her. She was in the editing department now, and it was quite lonely, trying to please Kate all by herself. She wished Maxie was here to wait with her while Claudia and Carly's plan was put into action. But she couldn't. She had to make sure those dresses got to the location on time and unharmed.

*

It wasn't until mid-afternoon that Kate started to feel sick. First, it was her head. It was throbbing like someone had smacked her with a baseball bat. She tried ignoring it, but as the day wore on, the pain got worse and worse. Then came the queasy feeling in her stomach. No, she couldn't get sick. She had a magazine to run.

But the throbbing and nausea wouldn't go away. Finally, Kate decided she had to go down to the hotel gift shop and get some medicine.

She peeked her head out of her office, planning on having Lulu get it, but Lulu wasn't there. Kate was confused for a moment, then remembered that Lulu was with the dresses. Well, she'd just have to get it herself.

*

"Claudia, I don't think this is happening." Carly and Claudia had been waiting in the Metro-Court lobby for hours, waiting for news from Lulu that Kate had finally gotten sick. But, none had come, and Claudia was actually starting to doubt herself.

"Maybe this is a sign," she said glumly. "Maybe we really shouldn't be doing this." But, just as she said it, the elevator doors opened, and out came, surprisingly, the exact person they both wanted to see.

Kate was even paler than usual as she made her dizzy way across the lobby. She could barely get one foot in front of the other because she felt so nauseous. The room started spinning, and finally, a miracle happened.

Claudia and Carly were swift as each of them whipped out their cell phones. Carly started snapping pictures, while Claudia's phone started recording a video. The entire lobby stopped to watch Kate retch on the shiny floors.

"Ugh, that's disgusting," said Carly with a smile.

"Good disgusting, though," said Claudia, zooming in.

"Ms. Howard, are you okay?" asked Marty, running from his post at the front desk to go to Kate's aid.

Kate's breath was coming in hyperventilated gasps as she finally stopped getting sick. Other Metro-Court guests started fleeing for the exits. With all the rumors about swine flu, they weren't taking any chances.

Claudia and Carly tried to stifle their laughter as they snuck away into the ladies' room off of the lobby. Once they were in their, they finally let it out.

Neither of them could have predicted Kate getting sick in front of the entire lobby, nor did they think they'd get footage of it. Tears started running from Claudia's eyes as she showed Carly the video she had taken, where they could watch Kate puke over and over at their own leisure.

"I—have—never—laughed—so hard—in my life," gasped Carly. "That was priceless!"

"Wasn't it?" said Claudia, laughing right along with her. "I mean, hell, we could stop there, and I'd still be satisfied."

"No," said Carly, trying to control her laughter as she held up her phone. "I am sending these to every tabloid in the country."

"And this is going on Youtube," said Claudia, holding up her own phone.

"You have a Youtube account?" questioned Carly.

"I do now." And, for some reason, this got them laughing again.


	5. Chapter 5

_Chapter Five_

"Spinelli, how long is this gonna take?" Just a day after the latté incident (which had already accumulated two hundred thousand hits on Youtube in just twenty-four hours), Claudia and Carly were already onto their next part of Operation: Take Down Kate Howard. Except this time, they'd need more help than Lulu. This type of job required an expert.

Spinelli had been quite surprised to receive a phone call from Carly and Claudia the day before. While both were pleasant to him on most occasions, he never thought that they'd be calling him for cyber assistance. Although, what he was doing wasn't exactly assisting anybody, except two women who wanted revenge.

"If Vixenella could just give the Jackal several moments—"

"Okay, Spinelli, here's the deal," said Claudia, leaning right down into his face. Spinelli had hooked his laptop up to the _Crimson _database while sitting at Maxie's old desk. Lulu sat at her desk, watching nervously as Carly and Claudia surveyed Spinelli's work. "The faster you do this, the faster you get paid. Understand?"

Spinelli looked at the wad of cash that Claudia held in her hand. With that kind of money, he could buy himself five more state-of-the-art firewalls for his computer. His inner sanctum would never be invaded by the FBI again.

"I most certainly understand," he said, going back to his work.

"So, what exactly are you doing?" inquired Carly.

"Something quite simple, actually," explained Spinelli as he typed. "The virus that the Jackal will release should shut down the entire inner workings of the _Crimson _database. It should also delete precious files, pictures, and other such documents, not to mention that the easily destructible firewalls will crumble to virtual pieces. All top-secret _Crimson _information will be available to any and all who pursue it."

"Like the people at _Couture_?" Claudia asked maliciously.

Spinelli nodded. "Those at the Glacial One's opposing temple of fashion worship will be privy to this information."

"Awesome," said Claudia and Carly at the same time.

Spinelli stopped typing, suddenly unsure of himself. "If I could ask something? Why are Vixenella and the Valkyrie pursuing such devilish deeds against the Glacial One? Surely you know the risks of such a task? I mean, besides the fact that this behavior could endanger your already-shaky standings with Port Charles law enforcement, wouldn't your respectful spouses find these acts atrocious?"

"Spinelli, I'm gonna spell it out for you," said Claudia. "We don't give a damn what anyone thinks about what we're doing."

"But Mr. Sir—"

"What Sonny doesn't know won't kill him."

Spinelli turned to Carly. Maybe she would be the rational one? "What about the Valkyrie's White Knight? Is he not on good terms with the Fashionista?"

"Jax is out of the country," said Carly. "By the time he gets back, Kate Howard will be finished."

Spinelli knew that arguing anymore would be futile, so he returned to his work. "While the Jackal does take some pleasure in partaking of this massacre of the Glacial One, seeing as she has never been anything short of shrill and demeaning towards him, I'm afraid for my own personal safety. Should Mr. Sir find out about this, I fear I will be among the living no longer."

"Spinelli, chill out," said Claudia. He couldn't flake out on them now, not when they were so close. "If Sonny finds out, which I know he won't, we'll cover for you. Don't you trust us?"

Spinelli considered for a moment, then answered. "My trust in you is unwavering. I hope you intend to keep your promise."

Carly looked over at her cousin. "You have your stuff backed up, Lulu?"

Lulu held up a flash drive. "Right here."

"Why should she back her stuff up?" asked Claudia. "Don't we want it all to disappear into cyberspace?"

"If she still has her stuff, Kate can't get mad at her," explained Carly. "We don't want Lulu losing her job over this."

Claudia raised an eyebrow. "We don't?"

"My work is complete," said Spinelli, standing up. "It should take a minute or two for the virus to spread throughout the entire database."

"Thank you, Mr. Jackal," said Claudia, handing him the wad of cash.

Spinelli looked at it like he had never seen money before. "The Jackal's service for Vixenella and the Valkyrie will always be available." And, with that, he made his way over to the elevator and left.

"So, now what?" asked Claudia.

"We wait for Kate to get here," said Carly. "Which will be when?" she asked Lulu.

Lulu checked her phone. "She hasn't left me any messages. She's probably still recovering from yesterday."

"Yeah, puking in the lobby of a five-star hotel can really wear a person out," said Carly, and Claudia laughed.

"Not only that," said Lulu, "but the footage you guys got drove her over the edge. I mean, I think she's going crazy."

"Going crazy?" asked Claudia skeptically.

Just then, Lulu's cell phone buzzed. She looked at it, then looked at Claudia and Carly anxiously. "Her car's downstairs. You guys gotta go!"

"And miss Kate having a freakout?" asked Carly. "No way."

"Well, hide then!" said Lulu. She stood up from her seat, opened the door of the side closet, and gestured for Carly and Claudia to go in. They followed, not wanting to be on the receiving end of Kate's wrath.

"Carly, move over!" Claudia whispered once they were shut in there. There was barely enough room for one of them, but there wasn't another option.

"Shh!" Carly shushed her, her ear pressed against the door. "I hear her."

Outside the closet, Lulu tried to remain calm. "How are you feeling today, Kate?"

The shadows under her eyes and the paleness of her skin were enough of an answer, but she still said, "I've had better days, Lulu. You know what will cheer me up?" Lulu shook her head. "Get those awful pictures off the internet. Call anybody you have to. I can't stand them being on there for another second."

Should she tell her now? Lulu didn't see any point in stalling. "Uh, actually, Kate, the entire computer system has shut down. There's been some sort of virus." She winced, waiting for the blow.

All Kate could do was stand there. First getting sick, then the pictures, and now this? What was going on? It seemed like there was someone out to get her, but she knew she was just being paranoid. It had just been a bad couple of days.

"Well…I…just…you—" Kate couldn't find the words to explain her frustration. In the closet, Claudia and Carly snickered silently. Finally, Kate said something. "Take the rest of the day off, Lulu. Tell everyone else to do the same. I just can't take this anymore."

Claudia and Carly could have cheered if they didn't have a cover to blow. Not only had they publicly humiliated Kate, but now they were making her give up. The rest of the week would be a piece of cake.


	6. Chapter 6

_Chapter Six_

"So, Kate still in meltdown mode?" Carly whispered. She was back in Kate's office bright and early the next morning, starting to feel like she lived there.

"Yes," answered Lulu happily. She had never expected to get so much joy out of Carly and Claudia's operation. "She came in this morning and she looked like she had been hit by a train. I was surprised she was even able to dress herself."

"This is just the beginning," said Carly, pressing her ear to the closed door of Kate's office. She was having her over-the-phone meeting with Gregorio Bianetti, that photographer that Lulu had said was easily ticked off. In her hand was her cell phone, which had a text message on the screen, ready and waiting to be sent to Claudia.

"How's it going in there?" Lulu asked.

"Meh," said Carly. All that Kate and Bianetti had talked about were the people they knew and how so-and-so was doing. Carly was still waiting for the perfect opportunity to ruin Kate Howard. Again.

"So, Gregorio, the reason I'm calling you is about a photo shoot I thought you might be interested in," said Kate, and Carly's ears perked up immediately. This was what she had been waiting for. "It's for the April issue, and the concept has your name written all over it."

"Hmm," Carly heard Bianetti say over the speaker phone. "Sell it to me. Make me like it."

"Well, we know that peep-toe pumps will be all the rage, so I wanted to do something with that, kind of an urban theme—"

"Look, Kate, I don't care what you want," said Bianetti, his fake Italian accent coating every word. "I'm the photographer. It's about what I want."

"Right, of course," said Kate hurriedly. She did not want to blow this.

"Which means we also have to discuss payment," said Bianetti. "Now, I don't want to argue about it. I get what I ask for."

"Look—"

"Don't argue with me, Kate Howard! Without me, you have nothing for this shoot!"

Carly seized her opportunity. She hit send, then booked it so that Kate wouldn't see her when everything came crashing down.

*

After half an hour of waiting, Claudia started to get worried. What was taking Carly so long? Would she even get service down here in the basement? What if they missed their golden opportunity? She hadn't dressed like this for nothing.

When Claudia had heard about their next stage of the plan, she had taken her role a little too seriously. She almost felt like a secret agent, squatting down in the dark basement next to the fuse box, with nothing but a flashlight in her hand. Carly had told her not to attract suspicion, and Claudia thought she had done her best. While still in her traditional black, she managed to find something that she could get down and dirty in. She had her black jeans, black long-sleeved t-shirt, black sneakers, and even a black ski cap she had found lying around. She had even taken it to the extremes by using a Sharpie to draw black war paint underneath her eyes. What could she say? She was having fun.

Suddenly, her phone vibrated in her pocket. She took it out and read the one-word text message from Carly:

Now!

Claudia pointed her flash light at the fuse box and found the clearly labeled switch for the third floor. She flicked it, then ran.

*

Kate was just about to settle with Gregorio on a reasonable agreement when she witnessed her lights flicker out and the phone line go dead.

What had happened? How could the power have gone out? It was impossible. The Metro-Court was a five-star hotel. They never had a power outage, ever.

"Lulu!" she screamed, storming out to the front of her office, where Lulu tried to look as innocent as possible. "What happened to the power?"

"I don't know," answered Lulu, trying to keep a straight face. "It just…went out."

"That's not a good answer!" yelled Kate. "I was just on the phone with Gregorio Bianetti, one of the worlds best photographers! The power could not have gone out!"

"I'll call maintenance," said Lulu, but she knew that it wouldn't get Kate's photo shoot back. And, deep down, Kate knew that, too.

*

"That is almost as funny as Kate throwing up in the lobby!" said Carly, watching the video on Lulu's phone for the hundredth time. Lulu had secretly taken it while Kate had a complete meltdown after being denied by Bianetti.

"So, he won't work with her?" asked Claudia giddily. It was yet another day of rain, so she, Carly, and Lulu sat inside Kelly's, laughing about the day's events.

"Yep," said Lulu, slipping her phone back into her pocket, thinking that Carly had had enough. "He said he'd never work with a bitch like Kate Howard. His exact words were, 'No one hangs up on Gregorio and gets away with it!' How great is that?"

"Beyond great," said Carly. She looked at her watch. "Oh, Claudia, we have to go talk to Coleman about tomorrow."

"Oh, right," said Claudia, standing up. She had removed the war paint at Carly's request, but wasn't quite ready to give up the rest of her outfit. She turned to Lulu. "Hey, could you send me that? It would be a perfect sequel to the Kate puking video on Youtube." Maybe she could learn to like Lulu after all.

"Definitely," said Lulu. "By the way, what's your username? I wanted to show the video to Maxie. She doesn't believe me about it."

Claudia and Carly exchanged a smile as Claudia said, "KateHowardMustDie."


	7. Chapter 7

_Chapter Seven_

"I can't believe Coleman agreed to this," said Claudia. She and Carly stood behind the front desk of the Metro-Court, waiting for the highly-anticipated guests to start coming in.

"Please," said Carly, holding the bright green flyers in her hand. She didn't know how many models would be coming, so she had had Claudia make about a hundred. If there were any left over, she'd just hang them up around town. The more advertisement tonight got, the better. "Coleman will do anything for cash and the chance to see drunk models dance on tables."

"We don't know that's gonna happen," cautioned Claudia.

"You are one of the most pessimistic people I've ever met," said Carly. "I've trusted you the past few days. Can't you trust me this time?"

Claudia smiled. "Fine. I'll keep my comments to myself."

"Good," said Carly. She turned to the front door, where her first victim was coming inside from the downpour. "Ooh, there's one."

Claudia looked in the direction that Carly was pointing. The girl was super skinny and had an air of "I'm better than you and you know it" that followed her as she walked up to the front desk, rolling her Ralph Lauren suitcase behind her.

"How can I help you?" Carly asked cheerfully.

"I'm here to check in," said the model, and Claudia felt the need to slap her for her attitude. "I'm with Kate Howard's photo shoot." She flipped her blonde hair, causing some men in the lobby to turn in her direction.

"Right," said Carly, checking her computer. "Name?"

"Christine Marlin," she said, as if everyone should know her name.

Carly scrolled through her reservations. "Okay, I see you. Room 608." She handed her a key card, then held up one of the flyers. "By the way, a local bar, Jake's, is hosting a special tonight for all the models in Kate's shoot. Free drinks the whole night."

The model looked at the flyer as if Satan was tempting her with forbidden fruit. Claudia looked on nervously. What if all the models cared too much about their careers to get wasted tonight? Then she and Carly would have to move up the operation a day, and everything would be thrown off.

"I'm not sure…" she said.

"Oh, are you worried about Kate?" Carly asked with fake concern. "She organized the whole thing. It's her little way of saying 'thank you' for doing the shoot."

The model brightened up immediately. "Well, if Kate says it's okay…"

"Kate says it's more than okay," said Carly. She held out the flyer, and the model took it excitedly.

"Thank you," she said, picking up a suitcase and rolling over to the elevator.

"No," said Claudia under her breath. "Thank you."

*

The rest of the models came within the hour. There were about thirty-five in all, so Carly took the extra flyers and slid them under doors of businesses and snuck them into the mailboxes of oblivious Port Charles citizens. While the models drank for free, she was sure that there were many single men in town that wouldn't mind paying for a couple of drinks to spend some time with girls that were way out of their league.

While Carly spread the word, Claudia was at Jake's, making sure Coleman had enough of everything and giving him the final payment for his troubles. Having unlimited funds was always a plus, especially where Kate Howard's demise was concerned. Now, she was going through Coleman's music collection, disappointed at what she was finding.

"Coleman, you have no good music in here," she said, flipping through CD after CD.

"Are you kidding?" asked Coleman, pausing from his tequila stocking to confront Claudia. They were the only ones in the bar, with it only being three in the afternoon. "That is quality music. I've got Jack Johnson, The Fray, Oasis—"

"I mean, good clubbing music," clarified Claudia. "Because I seriously doubt that anybody will be getting down to 'Bittersweet Symphony' by The Verve."

"Well, what do you suggest I do?" asked Coleman, taking the CDs from her. "I don't have time to go look for 'clubbing music.'"

"Lucky for you, I came prepared," said Claudia, pulling two mixed CDs from her purse. She handed them to Coleman saying, "The songs are listed on the jackets."

Coleman looked over them, horrified. "No," he said. "This bar is a Britney Spears-free zone."

"Coleman, here are your options," said Claudia. "Play my CDs and watch drunk models do things that they'll either regret or forget in the morning, or watch semi-drunk models just sit around while The Wallflowers provide serene background music."

Coleman sighed. "Fine. But I'm limiting the Lady Gaga songs to two, max."

"Three," argued Claudia. "You can't play 'LoveGame' without 'Poker Face' and 'Just Dance.'"

"Why not?" asked Coleman.

"You just…can't," said Claudia. "It's, like, a rule."

"Whatever," said Coleman. "But no Lil' Wayne."

"Deal," said Claudia. She'd have to make a compromise somewhere.

*

"Wow," was all Carly could say. While she and Claudia hadn't been in the middle of the activity at Jake's, it was just as much fun to witness it. Neither of them had ever seen the bar so packed. Beer bottles and shot glasses littered the floors and tables. Models and potential one-night stands were all pressed against each other, the bass drum of "Bad Influence" by P!nk reverberating throughout the room.

"We done good, Carly," said Claudia. They clinked their beer bottles together, a simple nod to another victory.

"Hey, guys," said a voice. Carly and Claudia turned around to see Lulu and Dominic holding hands and staring at the place in awe.

"Hey, Lulu," said Carly, looking Dominic up and down. "Interesting choice of date."

Lulu ignored the comment as she said, "I've never seen Jake's like this. You guys are evil geniuses. Kate's gonna have a heart attack tomorrow."

"Awesome," said Claudia, taking a swing of beer. "I'm very much looking forward to it."

*

"Where the hell is everybody?" Kate screamed. She, a few photographers, and several other _Crimson _personnel were gathered in the warehouse that was serving as their photo shoot location. The backdrops were set up, the outfits ready and waiting. All that was missing were Lulu and the models. Kate had been calling, texting, and emailing Lulu multiple times for the past two hours, but no response. This was a nightmare.

Why were all of these things happening to her, and all in such a short space of time? Someone was definitely out to get her, but who? Who could possibly cause this much damage?

*

"Ah, the beautiful sounds of a model being hungover," said Claudia, her ear pressed against the door of one of the model's rooms. Inside, she could hear the distinct sound of someone puking.

"Not one of them got up this morning," said Carly, smiling. "Ten bucks says Kate will morph into the Hulk by the end of the day."

"Please, she passed Hulk two days ago," said Claudia, finally pulling her ear away from the door. "Wanna go out for breakfast?"

"I'd love that," said Carly. Were she and Claudia really becoming friends? A week ago, she would never have even considered the possibility. But now, it was quickly becoming a reality. "But we need to get naps before tonight. I don't want to go down there until real late, so we know no one will catch us."

"No one's gonna catch us," said Claudia. "We're just too damn good."


	8. Chapter 8

_Chapter Eight_

When Claudia heard the crash, she braced herself. While she excelled at being a sneaky super agent, as proved by the power outage part of the mission, Carly was not as skilled. For starters, she couldn't navigate in the dark.

"I'm okay," called Carly, picking herself up. She had tripped over a trash can, which was what had caused the crash.

"You need to be quiet!" Claudia said in a hushed whisper, but Carly knew it was meant to be a shout.

"Oh, please," she said. "It's, like, midnight. No one's gonna hear us."

"Yeah, but you're ruining the fun," said Claudia. She and Carly were in similar outfits, the same type of outfit that Claudia had worn when she and cut the fuse for the third floor of the Metro-Court, except Carly had gone on a fifteen-minute rant about why she would not wear war paint. Claudia agreed to leave that out of their getups, but was still a little disappointed.

"How could you ruin the fun of this?" asked Carly. She felt the pair of kitchen scissors in her pocket. The weight of them was enough to make anyone with a master plan so giddy that they tripped over trash cans. "Shouldn't we find a light switch?"

"No," said Claudia. "That's what the flashlights are for. We don't want anyone to know we're here." She and Carly held identical flashlights, and were shining the lights all over the warehouse. She saw backdrops, cameras, and makeup tables, but had yet to see any clothes.

"Hey, over here," called Carly. She had found herself in the corner of the warehouse, with five racks of outfits lined up evenly next to each other. Claudia followed the sound of her voice, shining the flashlight on the clothes.

"Alright, let's do this," she said. She and Carly took the scissors out of their pockets and went to town.

Neither Claudia nor Carly had ever had this much fun. It was the best way to get out their built-up anger. They took their scissors and hacked away at the clothing, priceless couture going to complete waste. Each had their own style. Carly cut each piece into even quadrants, while Claudia just dug her scissors in and tore, watching the shreds fall to the ground.

It didn't take long for them to get through the first four racks, and they were on the final one in no time. Claudia was becoming really aggressive with a certain skirt, but when she saw Carly about to slice down one particular article of clothing, she threw her scissors on the floor and went to stop her.

"No!" she said.

Carly stopped mid-slash. "What?"

"Not that dress!" said Claudia, taking off the rack. "It's mine."

Carly stared at it in awe. "Wait, is that the dress that Kate stole?"

"Yep," said Claudia nodding. "We can not destroy this one. It's mine, and I intend to keep it."

Carly smiled, approving completely. The dress was gorgeous: short and black with spaghetti straps and a little bit of shine. "Good for you," said Carly. "You should totally wear it around Kate, just to shove it in her face."

"Actually," said Claudia, considering, "have you ever heard the phrase 'when the world hands you lemons, make orange juice and watch everyone wonder how you did it?'"

"Yeah," said Carly, confused. "What's that got to do with anything?"

"You'll see," said Claudia, going back to her cutting.

Carly left it at that, joining her. They spent a couple more minutes on the clothing, and then stepped back and admired their handiwork.

"Are we awesome, or are we awesome?" asked Carly, shining her flashlight over the shreds of clothing that littered the floor.

"We are beyond awesome," said Claudia. She glanced at her watch. "C'mon, let's get outta here."

"I wish we could stay and see the fallout," said Carly sadly.

"I'm sure Lulu will give us a full report," said Claudia, pulling at Carly's arm, her flashlight and dress in the other.

As they exited, Carly took one last look at the masterpiece. This plan just kept getting more and more fun.

*

"Well, it was nice of everyone to join us today," said Kate as the models made their way into the warehouse. She stood outside the door under her umbrella, not bothering to offer it to anyone else, greeting all of her models with a disapproving glance. According to Lulu, there had been a party at Jake's and all the models had gone. Kate had never seen such unprofessional behavior from any models that she had ever worked with.

"Ms. Howard, I'm sorry," said one of the blonde models, holding her bag over her head to shield herself from the rain. Christine, Kate thought her name was. "But we were told that you had authorized the party."

Kate grimaced. "Nice try, Christine. You're lucky I'm giving any of you a second chance. Normally, such behavior would have cost you, not only this job, but your entire career. So, don't talk to me. Just go in there and pose for the damn photo shoot."

As the rest of the models started piling in, Lulu squeezed her way out, excited and slightly fearful for her life to tell Kate the news. "Uh, Kate—"

"Lulu, I swear, if you are about to tell me that the photographer quit, I might just explode."

Lulu braced herself. "Uh, no. That's not it. But, there's something wrong with the outfits."

Kate's eyes flared in anger. "What?" She pushed past Lulu and into the warehouse, to the back corner where the outfits were being kept. When she saw what was left of them, she screamed.

Lulu covered her ears. The screeching sounded like that of a banshee. She waited until Kate was finally done to make her way over to her boss.

"This is not just bad luck!" Kate yelled. "Someone is out to get me!" She wheeled around to Lulu, who tried to conceal her smile. "Find out who was in this warehouse last night! I don't care what strings you have to pull, just do it! No one messes with Kate Howard and gets away with it!"

Lulu made her way outside, pretending to make the calls that Kate had asked her two. All she could think was this: if Kate thought this was bad, she really didn't know what Carly and Claudia were capable of.


	9. Chapter 9

_Chapter Nine_

"Okay, here you go," said Lulu, handing the heavy package to them. Both Carly and Claudia made grabs for it, each eager to get their hands on it. This was the last phase of the plan before tomorrow's gala, and it could not have gone better.

Lulu wasn't going to give in that early. She pulled the heavy package back. "What, no 'thank you, Lulu' or 'wow, you really risked your job and your life to get this to us?'"

Carly put her hands on her hips. "Lulu, stop whining and hand it over."

Lulu knew better than to disobey with Carly. "Fine. Okay, now, this is just a copy. Kate's went into publishing a couple days ago, but _Couture_ will still come out two days before. By the time _Crimson _gets out, it'll be old news."

Claudia grabbed the package from Lulu's hands and ripped it open. The latté, the power outage, and the model party all paled in comparison to this. Because, this time, they would ruin Kate forever.

In her hands she held the entire layout for the March issue of _Crimson_, or, what it would soon be, the March issue of _Couture_. She couldn't deny it; Kate did have an eye for design. Each page was laid out elegantly and logically. Well, the better it was, the worse the fallout would be. Once Giselle had this in her hands, she wouldn't waste a second to destroy Kate with it.

"Really, Lulu, thank you," said Claudia, not taking her eyes off of it. Carly looked over her shoulder, also admiring the masterpiece. "We could not have done this without you."

"No problem," said Lulu. Wow, she never imagined that she'd get on so well with Claudia.

"C'mon," said Carly to Claudia. "We have to hurry. I have a car waiting to take us into Manhattan. If we leave now, we should get there by deadline."

"We can't just express mail it?" asked Claudia. "It would be faster."

"And risk it getting lost or stolen?" said Carly skeptically. "I don't think so. Besides, I want to see the look on Giselle's face when we give this to her."

Claudia couldn't argue with that logic. "Alright, then let's go."

*

"This has to be a joke," said Giselle. Her office in Manhattan was just as elegant as Kate's, but way bigger, not just one floor of a hotel in the middle of mob-central. Carly guessed she had at least five floors, if not more, devoted to _Couture_. She hoped Kate was jealous of this.

"No, it's not a joke," said Claudia, holding the rewrapped package out in front of her. "Carly and I have our…connections. We want you to have this, free of charge."

"Really, what's the catch?" asked Giselle, and Claudia became fearful that she wouldn't take it.

"Look, Claudia and I hate Kate Howard more than you could possibly ever imagine," said Carly. "And while we could stand here and list every single solitary reason why we're doing this, it would just be easier if you took the layout and do what you will with it."

Giselle just stared at the package, like she really wanted to take it and run with it, but at the same time wasn't sure if it was just a bomb waiting to explode. "I still don't—"

"Okay, let me explain this to you in terms you might understand," said Claudia, growing impatient. They couldn't miss the deadline. "For about two seconds, I was in possession of an original Versace dress. Kate stole it right out from under my nose."

Giselle covered her mouth in shock. "The bitch!"

Carly smiled. "Now do you understand?"

Giselle didn't say anything, just walked over to her desk and pressed down a button on her phone. "Leah, could you come in here, please?"

At that moment, a young blonde walked into the office, a pen and paper in her hand. "Yes, Giselle?"

"Take this package down to publishing," said Giselle. "Tell everyone down there to cancel the current issue and replace it with what's in the package."

Without a word, the blonde walked over to Claudia, who handed her the package, happy and sad to finally be rid of it. Once she was gone, Carly and Claudia turned back to Giselle, who stood there, not quite believing what she'd just done.

After a couple moments of silence, she said, "I don't really know who either of you are, but how can I ever repay you?"

Claudia and Carly exchanged a look before Carly said, "Just make sure it gets published."

*

"Rise and shine!" said Carly brightly the next morning. There were many perks to being one of Sonny's many love interests. One of them was being able to come and go through his house as she pleased.

Claudia squinted her eyes against the bright sunlight as Carly drew the curtains in her room. "What're you doing here?" she murmured, turning over and putting a pillow over her head.

"Are you kidding?" asked Carly, sitting on the edge of her bed. "Today's the big day. Yesterday's fallout won't be around for months, so I thought we'd get a head start on the next one."

"You mean the last one," Claudia corrected, rolling back around to face Carly. She'd have to talk to Max and Milo about what time they could start letting people in. "Tonight's the gala."

"Exactly," said Carly. "It has to go down perfectly. We're gonna need a lot of time to prepare."

"Give me another hour?" Claudia asked, knowing it was futile.

Carly looked at her, shocked. "It's ten in the morning."

Claudia just stared at her. "Your point?"

"C'mon," said Carly, hopping off the end of the bed and moving to the side, where she grabbed Claudia by the elbow. Claudia let herself be dragged out of bed, making her slow and sleepy way towards the bathroom.

"Can't you go faster?" asked Carly, pushing her in the small of the back.

"Come back in an hour and I'll run a freakin' marathon for you," Claudia snapped.

"Okay, someone is obviously not a morning person," Carly grumbled, but then stopped herself before she went on anymore. "Look, we've come this far. We can't start fighting now."

"You're right," yawned Claudia, stretching her right arm and rubbing her eye with her left. "We just have to get through today."

"Get through it?" questioned Carly. "I plan on enjoying every minute of it."


	10. Chapter 10

_Chapter Ten_

Claudia could not believe her and Carly's half-baked scheme was working. Here they were, in Manhattan, at a _Crimson _gala, ready to tear Kate Howard's life apart. For good, this time.

The ballroom where the gala was being held was full to bursting with A-list fashion moguls rubbing shoulders with one another, each of them already on their second glass of wine.

"Where is Kate?" asked Carly, sneaking over to Claudia, who was once again incognito. Except this time she wasn't a sneaky super agent. She was the last thing she had ever expected to be in her entire life: a waitress.

Claudia smiled, balancing a tray of hors d'oeuvres on one hand as she talked to Carly. "She had some car trouble," was all she said.

Carly frowned. "Wait, I didn't know you knew anything about cars."

Claudia smirked. "I don't."

Carly grinned along with her. Claudia was an evil genius. She loved it. "So, how's waitressing going?"

"It sucks," said Claudia, shifting her weight from her right to her left foot. "My feet are killing me. Remind me to have your job next time."

"It's not my fault you didn't wear good shoes," Carly said in an "I-told-you-so" voice, shaking her head.

Claudia couldn't believe what she was hearing. "Good shoes? Carly, open your eyes. These are Armani originals. They don't even make them anymore."

"I mean, shoes you can stand in for more than five minutes," snapped Carly.

"Look, I had to put on a stupid outfit for this," said Claudia, gesturing at her oversized blouse, straight black pants, and black apron. "The least you could let me do is wear my own shoes."

"Fine, but stop complaining to me about it," said Carly.

"I let you wear my Versace dress," said Claudia. "Don't make me regret lending it to you."

Carly hugged the dress protectively to her. This had been what Claudia was talking about when they had slashed the outfits in the warehouse. When Kate saw Carly in Claudia's dress, and Claudia right beside her, she'd be too confused to understand how it had all happened.

"Look, Kate needs to get here soon," said Carly. "These people aren't going to wait much longer."

"They will if we give them something to gossip about," said Claudia.

"I thought we weren't starting that until Kate got here," said Carly, confused.

Claudia shrugged. "Look, I'm not sure what I exactly did to Kate's car. I cut a few wires, that's it. She could be awhile. Just start now, and hopefully they'll all be drunk and angry enough to give her hell."

"How do we know they'll get angry?" asked Carly. "Remember the model party? They were drunk and happy."

"Which is why I always have a plan B," said Claudia.

Carly just stared at her. "You never have a plan B."

"This whole experience has not only been fun, but educational," said Claudia, reaching into one of her apron pockets and pulling out yet another mixed CD.

"You and your mixed CDs," said Carly, taking it from her and looking at the songs listed on the back. She was shocked by some of what she saw. "Whoa, you are so not bonding with my kids over music."

Claudia grinned. "Ya like?"

"This is worse than the model party," said Carly, just staring at it.

"You're welcome," said Claudia, smiling. "Now, go start your rumor spreading. I have more drinks to spike."

"What is it with you and lacing people's drinks?" asked Carly. "I mean, I know you're a sociopath, but really?"

"Relax," said Claudia. "It's tequila this time, not Monster."

"Tequila?" asked Carly. "What's that gonna do?"

"Make them drunker, faster," said Claudia. "And they'll probably have more if you would start your part of the job."

She was right. If Carly didn't hop to it, not only tonight, but the entire week would have been a waste. This was what it was all leading up to: Kate's final downfall. And if she didn't do her part, it wouldn't happen.

Carly made her way over to a man and a woman, who were holding hands and staring around the room, obviously bored out of their minds.

"Hi," she said, wanting to make conversation. They both turned towards her, taken aback by her directness. "I'm Carly, one of Kate's editors. Enjoying yourselves?"

"Not really," answered the man honestly. "When is Kate getting here?"

"Who knows?" said Carly. "I mean, she normally likes to wait 'til after the party to shoot up, but maybe she changed her routine."

The couple just stared at her, neither of them knowing what to say. Finally, the man broke the silence, saying, "I'm Joseph Buckman, and this is my wife, Wilma. I work in advertising for _Crimson_."

"Oh, right," said Carly, sifting through the insults that she and Claudia had prepared on their way to the gala. "Wow, Kate's told me a lot about you. But I don't think it's all true. If you hadn't said your name, I'd have no idea you had hair plugs." The couples' faces fell slack. "I mean, they look so real, you can barely notice. Kate was going on and on about how fake they were, but you really can't tell." She turned to the wife. "And it looks like you've finally gotten over your bulimia. I'm so happy for you." The wife covered her mouth in shock and disgust.

"Excuse me?" asked her husband, patting nervously at his hair. "Where did Kate get these ideas?"

"I don't know," said Carly, trying to contain her smile. "Ask her when she gets here." And she walked off, leaving the couple to stare at each other, anger evident all over their faces.

Carly walked over to two men talking in a corner, resisting the urge to do a little victory dance. When she reached them, she maintained her composure, saying, "You guys enjoying yourselves?"

"Yes," said the one man. "Is Kate planning on getting here any time soon?"

"She should be here by now," said Carly, glancing at the door. "The Saturday guy usually only lasts fifteen minutes or so."

"I'm sorry?" said the second man, not grasping the rumor yet.

"Oh, right, you wouldn't know," said Carly. "I'm one of Kate's editors, so I know almost everything about her. How do you guys know Kate?"

"We're in charge of the syndication of the European version of _Crimson_," said the first man. "I'm Mason Bridges, and this is Seth Bremen."

"Oh, wow, it's such an honor to meet you," said Carly, shaking each of their hands.

"So, what's this about the 'Saturday guy?'" asked Mason.

"Oh, right," said Carly, eager to gossip. "Well, ever since last year, when Kate's marriage to that mobster went downhill—you know, Sonny Corinthos?" They both nodded. Everyone knew. "Well, Kate's been feeling quite…lonely…since the accident, so every day, after most people leave, she has a, um…different male acquaintance to…give her some company."

The men just stared at each other. Neither of them had been expecting this.

"So, Mason and Seth," said Carly, letting them figure the rest out for themselves, "it's so great you could come. And together. You know, I personally believe that everyone should feel good about their choices, and here you two are, not afraid of what people might think."

"What are you talking about?" asked Seth.

"It's okay, I don't judge," said Carly. "I think it's a shame that people do. Kate's prejudiced, you know. I'm surprised either of you made it that far up in the company. You must be very good at what you do."

"Hold up," whispered Mason. "Are you saying that Kate thinks we're gay?"

"No need to be ashamed," said Carly, trying so hard not to laugh. "Wear it loud, wear it proud, I always say."

"But we're not gay," said Seth quietly, hoping no one would hear.

"That's not what Kate said," said Carly in a sing-song voice as she turned and walked away.

The rest of the rumors were just as big of successes as the first two. Carly believed that she'd lowered the self-esteem of twenty people, broken apart five couples, and caused everyone else to eat almost all of the hors d'oeuvres Claudia was serving, or to not take another one. No matter what lie they had been told, everyone had had at least two more glasses of Claudia's tequila-spiked wine by the end of Carly's rounds.

"We rock," said Claudia, leaning against the wall with an empty tray, watching as people argued, complained, and cried over the rumors that Carly had spread. Carly stood next to her, proud of herself, when the guest of honor made her not-so-fashionably late entrance.

Every head turned towards the door, with Claudia and Carly blending in with the well-to-do crowd, not ready for Kate to see them just yet. The room was deathly silent, a few people leaning on chairs and each other for support.

"Thank you, everybody, for coming," said Kate, looking frazzled. "I'm sorry I'm late. I had some car trouble."

"Yeah, car trouble," sniggered Mason Bridges. "We all know what you were doing. Or should I say who?"

"What, you just start spreading rumors about people's sexuality and then show up late to your own party?"

Before Kate could say that she didn't know what people were talking about, someone else shouted, "Yeah, and since when have I cheated on my wife with you? I don't even like you!"

The shouts kept coming. "You think I'm too skinny? Take a look in the mirror, whore!"

"And you think my layout skills suck? Try looking at your own crappy magazine!"

"Who gave you the right to tell lies about some drug addiction I had?"

"Yeah, we all know you do heroin!"

"People, please!" Kate shouted, as the entire group, minus Carly and Claudia, started to converge on her. "I have no idea what any of you are talking about!"

"I'm quitting!" someone yelled.

"So am I!"

"I'm going back to _Couture_! At least Giselle knew how to treat her employees with respect!"

"You have no right to spread rumors about anyone! You were about to marry a mobster, for God's sakes!"

Kate just stood there as everyone made their drunken steps forward. She looked over the crowd, trying to find someone to help her, when her eyes landed on Claudia, in her waitress garb and awesome shoes, and Carly, in the Versace dress. Her face turned red in fury. Over the din of the complaining employees, her voice was lost, but neither Claudia nor Carly could mistake what her mouth said. "You."

Claudia and Carly each gave a little wave to Kate, embraced each other, leaving Kate to fight off the crowd on her own.

Finally, the Glacial One had gotten, not just a taste, but an overdose of her own medicine.


	11. Chapter 11

_Chapter Eleven_

"How is my beautiful wife?" asked Jax when he saw Carly sitting at a table in the Metro-Court restaurant. When Carly heard his voice, she jumped up and ran to him, so happy to see him. He had been gone for two whole weeks, and she had missed him so much.

"Jax, I'm so glad you're home!" she said, giving him a huge hug. He returned it, happy to see his wife after his two weeks in Hong Kong.

"I can see that," he said, finally pulling away. They both sat down at the table that Carly had previously occupied. "How were the last two weeks without me?"

"Eh," said Carly, not wanting Jax to know anything about her and Claudia's shenanigans. "Pretty boring. How was Hong Kong?"

"Well, business is business," said Jax. Something that was bothering him finally pushed its way out. "I, uh, got a strange phone call when I was over there."

Carly frowned. "Really? What about?"

"Well, Kate Howard called me in hysterics—" started Jax, and Carly felt her stomach do a somersault. Did Jax know about what she and Claudia had done? "Apparently, _Crimson _had had a total meltdown over the week and Kate couldn't take it anymore. She's quitting and is going back to work at _Couture _under Giselle."

Carly wasn't able to hide her happiness at that very easily, and Jax noticed as she tried to contain her smile. "What is it?" he asked.

"Nothing," Carly lied. "I mean, you know I don't like Kate, so it's hard to feel sorry for her." She suddenly realized something. "Wait. What happens to your shares in the company? Are you going to lose all that money?"

Jax shook his head. "No," he said. "_Couture _is buying _Crimson_. So, I'll still have my shares, just under a different name."

Carly breathed an internal sigh of relief. Kate was ruined and Jax hadn't lost his money. All was right with the world. Until—

"Actually, she said something else," said Jax, and Carly became immediately worried again. "She told some story that you and Claudia were behind everything that was going wrong."

Carly covered fast. She burst out laughing, as if the idea were impossible. "Yeah, right. Like me and Claudia would ever have a common purpose. C'mon, Jax, we hate each other."

Jax smiled. "I know. I knew she was just trying to make an excuse for her incompetence."

Carly took a deep breath again. She was out of the woods.

"Well, I'm sorry to cut this short, but I have a conference call in five minutes," said Jax. "Dinner tonight?"

Carly beamed. "Yeah, of course."

Jax returned the smile. "Great." He stood up from his seat, gave his wife a peck on the cheek, and made his way to his office.

Carly was about to get up herself when she felt her phone vibrate in her pocket. She took it out, looked at the number, and smiled. "What's up?" she answered after pressing the green button.

"I am planning on cancelling our Fios, because I will never see anything on television that is even half as satisfying as what I'm watching now," said Claudia when Carly answered. She was peeking around the curtain of the living room window, creeping on the house next door.

"What is it?" asked Carly.

"Kate Howard is finally moving!" said Claudia, watching as mover after mover carried box after box of Kate's crap out of the house.

Carly could almost hear Claudia's smile through the phone, and smiled along with her. "That's great! And guess what Jax told me? Kate quit _Crimson _and is going to work at _Couture _with Giselle as her boss!"

Claudia gasped. "No way! That is beyond payback!" As she said this, she was still looking out the window. Kate had finally come outside, Gucci sunglasses on her face to protect her eyes from the sun, which had finally started showing itself again, as she ordered the movers around.

"I know, isn't it?" said Carly. "I mean, nothing could be worse than sending Kate back there to take orders from Giselle."

Claudia was about to answer, when Carly heard her laughing hysterically. "What's going on?" she asked.

"Kate just tripped!" laughed Claudia, and Carly laughed along with her, wishing she could have seen it, too.

"This has been the most fun week ever!" said Carly through her laughs.

Claudia stopped laughing, realizing something. "And now it's over," she said sadly.

Carly stopped laughing as well. Claudia was right. It was all over. No more drink lacing, rumor spreading, outfit cutting, or model tricking. Everything was over. Well, not everything…

"Hey," said Carly, thinking of something, "Jax is taking me out to dinner tonight, but do you wanna go to Jake's tomorrow night?"

Claudia grinned from ear to ear. "I would love to."


End file.
